[ The Opportunist ] by Niger Lim

FR: Blair Singer
RE: The ugly truth about sales

Hi Niger,

Here’s a fact about sales…

Millions of people wake up every morning to go out and earn
a living through sales. At the end of the day, the vast
majority of these people return home having sold… NOTHING.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

Every one of these sales pros had great expectations of
making a sale, earning a commission, of enriching their
lifestyle and growing their income. What they didn’t know
was how to… SELL WELL.

If you’ve ever witnessed the revolving door of many sales
positions (people come, people go) then you also know that
many of the companies and sales managers don’t necessarily
care if you truly succeed or not.

If you fail, then they bring in the next person in line who
will make a couple of sales before quitting. And it keeps
going on like this.

Pretty disgusting, if you ask me. It’s purely a greed
mentality on the management’s part. There’s no real
leadership, no team building, no strengthening of skills.

Now, it may sound like I’m saying "bah, humbug!" to sales.
I’m actually just highlighting an ugly fact about parts of
the sales industry.

To be fair, sales is a richly rewarding, exciting, and fun
profession. Some of the richest people in the world have the
wealth that they do because of their ability to sell.

What I’m trying to get at is that whether or not your sales
manager or company cares about your success or not, your
success in sales is largely your responsibility.

Think of a top athlete. Their coach can only help them get
so far. It’s up to the athlete to push themselves so they
score that one extra point, jump that one inch higher or
whatever the case may be.

For a top athlete, victories aren’t forged on the gamefield,
they’re won in practice.

If you make a living in sales, then start thinking of
yourself as a Sales Athlete. The more you practice and hone
your skills the more deals you will close and the richer you
will become.

Be awesome,

Blair
http://www.salesdogs.com

[http://www.joegirard.com/13-Rules-To-Success.html]

1. HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE; hang around with positive people, stay away from cry babies and complainers, because they will pull you down to their level.  If something isn’t going right in your life, keep it to yourself, no one wants to hear your problems, make people believe you are having a wonderful time.
    
2. ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE; keep an appointment book so that you don’t have to use the words that sicken me: "I FORGOT."  At the end of each day, meditate upon what you did  or did not do, so you can become stronger for tomorrow.  Plan your work for the next day.  If you know where you are going you will get there.  If you don’t, you are LOST!
    
3. WORK WHEN YOU WORK; don’t take long lunch hours, and only eat with people who can help your cause, not with other salespeople.  Do not sneak out of work early, if you do you are a LOSER.
    
4. OBSERVE GIRARD’S NO-NOs; No smoking or chewing tobacco, no gum, no colognes, no profanity, no dirty jokes, no alcohol breath, and men do not wear earrings when you are working.  Turn off cell phones - they’re irritating.  The biggest killer of them all is NOT BEING ON TIME.
    
5. DRESS THE PART; what kind of people are you dealing with.  If you are selling to blue collar workers, don’t wear $500 suits and expensive shoes, jewelry or watches (it’s a big distraction).  Wear it on your own time, not when you’re working - clothes can turn people off.
    
6. LISTEN!  People can tell if you’re not listening.  The longer you listen, the more obligated people will feel towards you.  The more you listen, the more likely a customer is going to do business with you.  Listening shows that you care.  "The mouth should only be used for eating - keep your mouth shut!"  Silence is Golden.
    
7. SMILE!  A smile increases your face value.  If people would smile more, your customers would feel better and want to do business with you, plus it’s great for your health!
    
8. RETURN ALL PHONE CALLS & EMAILS; not returning calls or emails are a way to lose customers and friends.  Return your calls and emails as soon as possible.  If you don’t, that’s a good way to burn a bridge!
    
9. TELL THE TRUTH; if you get caught in a lie even once, you will always be a liar.  Even if you tell the truth for the rest of your life, you won’t be trusted or believed, consider yourself DEAD.
    
10. DON’T OVERCHARGE; if you do, and the customer compares your deal with somebody else, you have lost him.  Take a little and leave a little; Joe only worked on a small profit, but he was heavy on volume, averaging six retail automobile sales a day.  Word of mouth got around that YOU CAN’T BEAT JOE GIRARD’S PRICE.
     
11. STAND IN FRONT OF YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICES; not behind.  The most important thing to do for your customer is SERVICE them, and they will do business with you over and over again. This is what made JOE #1 IN THE WORLD.
     
12. LOCK UP EVERY SALE; after you have closed the sale, ask your customers why they bought from you - if they tell you why, they are reinforcing their trust in you.  Therefore no more buyers’ remorse, MEANING NO MORE CANCELLATIONS.
     
13. REWARD YOURSELF; treat yourself well for all the smart work you have done; YOU DESERVE IT!

 

Joe Girard’s track record speaks for itself, as an international lecturer, author of best selling self-improvement books, and The World’s Greatest Salesperson, Joe Girard is the speaker you want to give your people what they need!

If your organization is interested in the dynamic Joe Girard and his proven first-hand experience, contact Mark Greenburg TODAY at:

P.O. Box 358
Eastpointe, MI 48021
Office: (313) 886-1530
Fax: (313) 886-9920